Longtime childhood favorite Danish toy manufacturer, Lego Group, has officially surpassed Mattel Inc. as the largest toy company in the world, according to reports on Thursday.

Lego announced its first-half of 2014 sales have risen 11 percent, largely in part due to the recent success of The Lego Movie, a film which made around $500 million worldwide. The film produced great ratings, but was more of a marketing tactic that promoted new and existing product lines.

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Lego's success is also due to multiple licensing deals dating all the way back to 1999 - featuring iconic comic book characters like Batman and Superman, as well as Star Wars themed characters including Darth Vader.

While Lego's sales increased by 11 percent for a total of around $2 billion, their main rival Mattel Inc has reportedly declined by seven percent in sales of 2014 in the same time-span.

The American-based toy manufacturer, Mattel, is the company that produces Barbie-dolls, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and other child-favorite toys.

Mattel has been continuing to struggle to raise demand and meet sales expectations with their iconic Barbie-doll brand, which is what resulted in the decreased 2014 sales.

According to Euromonitor, Lego is in control of 65 percent of the entire construction toy market, which is estimated to grow to a near $13 billion industry by 2018.

Furthermore, The Lego Movie 2 has already been confirmed and set to release in 2017, which will only boost the popularity and success of Lego Group to even greater heights.  

Lego also announced sales in China have increased by over 50 percent in the first-half of 2014, and will be expanding its company by building a new factory located in China in an effort to be closer to core markets.

Mattel still possesses the chance to climb back and catch up to Lego in the second-half of 2014; however, it'll be a very daunting task considering majority of Lego's sales occur during the few weeks leading up to the holiday season. 

TagsLego Group, Mattel Inc., The Lego Movie 1, The Lego Movie 2, Barbie-Doll, construction toy market, Euromonitor, 2014 toy sales